Clinical pathways are our most valuable and performant tool in managing health-care processes. Sloppiness and inaccuracy, in both definition and implementation, threaten to erode the concept and, thus, to undermine its power. Back to basics is not a plea for nostalgia, but for continuing consistently to design care according to a patient's needs, to focus on desired clinical outcomes and to anchor the care processes into the daily life of the health-care organization.
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